Samir Barai Said to Be Co-Conspirator in Insider Trading Case

Barai Capital Management LP’s founder
is a co-conspirator named in a U.S. probe of insider trading at hedge funds, technology companies and consulting firms, a person
familiar with the case said.

Samir Barai is co-conspirator 1, or “CC1,” in a complaint
filed in December against Winifred Jiau, an ex-consultant for
so-called expert-networking firm Primary Global LLC, according
to the person, who declined to be identified because the matter
isn’t public.

In a Dec. 29 filing, the U.S. described two unidentified
hedge fund portfolio managers at different firms who allegedly
conspired with Jiau. The case is part of three overlapping
probes stemming from the insider trading investigation of
New York-based hedge fund Galleon Group LLC.

The government alleged that Jiau, 43, had conversations in
May 2008 with the fund managers and provided them with non-
public material information about Marvel Technology Group Ltd.
and Nvidia Corp. Jiau provided information about Marvell’s
earnings, gross margins and public earnings announcements for
the first and second quarters of 2008, according to prosecutors.

She also provided tips to CC1 about Santa Clara,
California-based Nvidia’s earnings for the second quarter of
2009, according to filings in federal court in Manhattan.

CC1’s hedge fund earned more than $820,000 as a result of
trading on information that Jiau provided on Hamilton, Bermuda-
based Marvell’s stock and stock options, prosecutors alleged.

Barai, 39, who previously worked at Citigroup Inc. before
starting his own firm, hasn’t been charged with any wrongdoing.
He didn’t return calls or e-mails seeking comment. Jiau, of
Fremont, California, has said she intends to plead not guilty.

The Wall Street Journal reported Barai’s designation by the
government earlier. Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for Manhattan
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, declined comment.

The government also described a third person, Cooperating
Witness 1 or “CW1,” in the case, who was identified by
prosecutors as a research analyst who worked for CC1’s hedge
fund, according to court papers.

According to the Jiau complaint, CW1 was instructed by CC1
to speak to “various co-conspirators” who worked at publicly
traded companies in order to obtain material, nonpublic
information which was then traded upon at the fund.

CW1 both listened in on the conversations at the request of
CC1 and took contemporaneous notes about these calls on a hedge
fund office computer and on a laptop, the U.S. said.

At least two conversations which Jiau had with both hedge
fund managers were also recorded, prosecutors said.

The case is U.S. v. Jiau, 10-02900, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York (Manhattan).